30 Kisses: Sakura and Sasuke
by wrinkledgreenpea
Summary: She had stolen his heart. He had broken hers. But no one ever doubted that one day, they would end up together. 30 kisses for the cherry blossom and her avenger.
1. Welcome Home

Theme: # 20 - the road home.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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**---Welcome Home---  
**

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_It's such a nice day today. The weather's so perfect, and I have the whole day off. _The pink-haired beauty strolled leisurely through the market, taking her sweet time to pick up a few groceries for the next week's dinners. 

_The tomatoes look really good today._ Stopping by the vendor's stall, Sakura picked one up and gave it a little squeeze, before dropping it into a paper bag. _Maybe I'll have some pasta with them tonight,_ she thought as she reached for another one. _Or I could just eat them raw. Just the way… Sasuke-kun did._

It was disturbingly weird. Even after all these years, not one day went by without her thoughts of him. _Wherever he is, I hope he's happy with his life. Even if… I'm not a part of that life._

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!"

People's heads were starting to turn as the loud-mouthed blonde ninja raced down the street. The crowd parted to give Naruto a wide berth; no one wanted to have one of Konoha's top shinobi crash into him. – injuries would be inevitable.

Just as he was almost there, he suddenly tripped, flew into the air, and fell flat on his face in front of her.

"Oww…. That hurts." Naruto mumbled out as he looked up into Sakura's amused face, as she paid the vendor, before lifting the brown bag of groceries into her arms. She flashed him a grin as he frowned and rubbed his head.

"I would assume so; you just fell down face first. But," Sakura began. "What exciting news caused you to—"

Gripping both her shoulders, Naruto cut her off excitedly, "The teme's back!"

The bag fell from Sakura's grasp, its contents spilling out onto the ground.

---

_What? He's back?_ _He's… finally back? _Sakura's mind wasn't functioning properly. So many thoughts were swirling through her mind. So many memories. So many… painful memories.

Mistaking her silence for confusion, Naruto ventured, "Umm… Sakura-chan, you know who I'm talking about, right?"

No response.

"Sakura-chan? Are you okay? You look kind of faint? Do you want to sit down? Can you still hear me? Are you going to pass out? Please don't pass out. Sasuke-teme's going to kill me if that happens. And I still have my whole life ahead of me! Sakura-chan?!"

Naruto's frantic hand motions must have caught her attention, for she blinked and then bent down to gather her dropped purchases. Taking care to keep all emotion out of her voice, she asked, "What about it?"

Naruto just stared.

Standing back up, she looked at him with what she hoped was an annoyed expression. "Well? He's back. How does that affect me?"

Silence.

"What?" Running a hand through her silken tresses, her voice took on an edge of exasperation and something Naruto wasn't able to pinpoint. Could it be anger? Had Sakura finally snapped?

Snapping out of his stupor, Naruto tried to soothe her. "Sakura-chan, I just thought that…"

"Why are you telling me this? So I could whisk myself over to him, only to be shot down again by a cold-hearted bastard who doesn't give a _damn_ about me?!"

Eyes flashing angrily and tears started to form, Naruto realized just how hard Sakura had tried to put Sasuke behind her. It wasn't fair that she had to suffer for eight long years, pining after an Uchiha who was bent on revenge. And just when she started to believe that she could live without ever seeing him again, he had to force his way back into her life.

Brushing off the blonde ANBU captain's concerned look, Sakura resumed her walk down the street. Although this time, she wasn't relaxed. Not at all. Far from it; her shoulders were tense, and her lips were pressed into a thin trembling line.

Catching up to her with ease, Naruto asked, "Aren't you going to see him?"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"He's hurt, you know. Fighting Itachi is bound to leave some injuries."

_He beat Itachi. So that's why he came back. Bastard._

Inner Sakura chirped cheerfully, 'But a super _hot_ bastard.'

_You're supposed to be on my side. And I'm surprised that you aren't totally pissed off that he had the nerve to come back._

'Well, weren't you pining after him all these years? I'm surprised that you aren't happy that he's finally back, safe and sound.'

… _Things have changed._

'Oh please. You're still as much in love with him as before, if not more so.'

_I'm NOT in love with him!_

'Denial. That's a very normal human defense mechanism. Now, skedaddle your precious little self over to the hospital!'

_NO! Why does everyone want me to do that?! Can't you see that I'm over –_

"Sakura-chan?" The persistent tugging of her arm stopped her from walking any further.

"I'm on my day off. I have no obligation to see him. Go get Tsunade-shishou to heal him. I don't care. Just leave me alone."

"But Sakura-chan… He asked for you."

---

"Lacerations on the arms, legs, and torso; 3 broken ribs; and a torn ligament in the ankle," Tsunade frowned. "Otherwise, you seem to be perfectly fine. I am going to keep you in here for another month, until you're fully healed."

Not taking his eyes off his orange book, the copy-nin asked, "What about his punishment?"

"Punishment?" His voice was slightly hoarse, as if he hadn't used it for ages.

Her brown eyes regarded him with grim amusement. "Of course, Uchiha. Please tell me you know that you've been a missing-nin for quite some time. Punishment is unavoidable."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Kakashi's bored voice broke in. "You won't get the death sentence… or anything too extreme, for that matter."

Tsunade whirled around and glared fiercely at Kakashi. "And why not? He's a traitor to Konoha. Look what he's done to Naruto. Look at what he's done to…"

_Sakura._ The name never left her mouth, but Sasuke knew exactly who she was talking about.

"Well, for one thing, Naruto would never allow it. He'd smuggle Sasuke out faster than you can blink. Sakura would probably jump off a cliff, and Konoha would lose one of its top medic-nins. Not to mention, Sasuke still has his army of fangirls at his disposal."

"…"

"…Kakashi. Stop talking." _Stupid man. Sasuke needs to be justly punished. Especially after all that crap he pulled._

"Hai, hai, Hokage-sama." He turned back to his orange book and immediately immersed himself in the conflict between Junko and Hiroshi.

The door opened.

"Tsunade baa-chan! What are _you_ doing here!" Everyone winced slightly as the ear-piercing cry resonated against the thin hospital walls.

…

"OW! OW! You old fart, what are you _doing_?!" cried Naruto as Tsunade mercilessly tugged at his ear.

"This is a hospital, fool," she hissed. "Don't you know that you're supposed to be quiet in a hospital?"

She then turned to Sakura, sounding rather surprised. "Today's your day off. I didn't think that you would come to the hospital. But you're here to see Sasuke, of course."

"Hai," said Sakura meekly. Damn it. How could his presence reduce her to such a state again? She felt as if she was twelve years old, worried about her appearance, and clinging onto every word that her precious Sasuke-kun uttered.

_What a sad day this is,_ she thought miserably while looking at the ground, unwilling to meet Sasuke's piercing stare. _That the apprentice of one of the legendary Sannin would lose her nerve and forget everything she's learned over the years, just because _he_ came back._

_--- _

_Sakura…_ She had changed. Changed so much that he couldn't see the girl in her anymore. Those expressive jade eyes were now downcast, hidden by her pink bangs. How he wished to see those eyes again. How he wished that she would look at him.

Tsunade started talking to him again, something about the council and how he would appear before them once he was healed, but he tuned her out. All of his focus was on his former pink-haired teammate.

Her slender arms were wrapped around herself, as she shifted from one foot to the other, biting her lip nervously. _Adorable…_ Sasuke thought, before he mentally slapped himself. _Adorable? What the hell am I thinking? This was _Sakura_ we're talking about. _

He continued to look unabashedly at her. _Though I have to admit, I haven't seen a kunoichi look this hot in years._ Another mental slap. _Think of how good-looking our kids are going to be. _Slap. _And how fun it'll be to make them._ Slap. Slap.

The mental slaps would have kept coming forever, but Tsunade's irritated voice broke into his increasingly lecherous thoughts. "Uchiha, are you listening to me?"

Cool onyx eyes surveyed her with a look of displeasure. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"While I'm sure Sakura is quite the eye candy you've been missing all these years, I would appreciate it if you would at least keep your ears open, since you seem to be incapable of tearing your eyes off of her."

Scowl.

Chuckles from Naruto and Kakashi.

Silence from Sakura.

_Damn._ His scowl deepened. Why wouldn't she look at him? What was so interesting about the hospital floor anyways.

"Well, I'll leave you to your rest." With that said, the fifth Hokage swept out of the room.

Kakashi motioned to Naruto and Sakura. "Let's go. Sasuke needs some quiet time." His eye crinkled into a smile as he gave Sasuke a wordless wave.

"Bye Sasuke-teme! Hurry up and get better so I can crush you with my rasengan!"

Scoff. "You wish, dobe."

"What did you say! How dare you say that to the future Ho–"

"Lower your voice, Naruto. Other people are resting."

"Gomen, Kakashi-sensei. See you later, Sasuke!"

"Hn."

_She still hasn't looked at me,_ thought Sasuke, as the three began filing out. _Is she ever going to acknowledge my return? _

"Wait, Sakura."

She paused at his words and turned around, careful to not meet his gaze. "Yes?"

"Stay for a while."

She froze.

She gave Naruto a desperate look, but he grinned and flashed her a thumbs up before disappearing from sight.

Now it was Sakura and Sasuke.

A long silence ensued.

'Say something!' Inner Sakura screamed.

_Like what?! 'Hi, Sasuke-kun. How are you doing? Are you glad you got your revenge? Are you happy? Do you know how many tears I cried for you? Oh gee, there must have been over a million, but I forgot, you don't care."_

'Well… If that's really the best you got, then go ahead.'

_You're not helping._

"Sakura."

Unconsciously, she shivered. The way her name rolled off his tongue just sounded so… so right. The way he said it in his low husky tenor – it was the way she wanted to hear it everyday.

"Sakura, come over here."

She took two small steps. Feeling his eyes narrow, she gradually made her way to his bedside in slow and tiny steps.

"Look at me, Sakura."

The unusual gentleness in his tone caused her head to snap up. His face was devoid of emotion, just like hers had been a while ago, but his gaze was smoldering. Was she losing her eyesight? To her, it seemed as if his stare was full of… want. _I must be dreaming_, she thought as she blushed under his unwavering scrutiny.

Satisfied and quite pleased by the growing pink adorning her cheeks, Sasuke let a lazy smirk stretch across his face.

"Well, Sakura, aren't you going to welcome me back?" he drawled while leaning back into propped up pillows.

Instantly, the blush disappeared from her face to be replaced with an angry glare. _How _dare_ he. Who does he think he is, that he can just waltz in my life again, and expect me to be submissive to his every whim? He has no right to assume that I'll let him off the hook without any sort of… _

'Ah, but you will. Go on. Go give him a _proper_ welcome.' Inner Sakura said suggestively.

_Yeah right. Like hell I'll do that. _

She bit out vehemently, "Excuse me? Why would I ever do that?"

Oddly enough, he liked this new side of her. Feisty. Alluring. Beautiful.

"Why not?"

"Because you're a traitor! You betrayed us! You can't just leave us for eight years and come back and expect us to welcome you with open arms, as if you didn't do anything wrong. Do you have any idea how much pain you caused us? How much pain you caused… me?"

"Hn."

"You don't care huh. You don't care about any of us. You don't care how many injuries Naruto suffered trying to retrieve you. You don't care how much pain I went through, thinking of you. All you care about is your revenge. Well, now you got it. Are you finally happy?"

"…"

Interpreting his silence as confirmation, Sakura turned away, heart heavy. He had come back, but he hadn't changed at all. He wasn't worth her time, but why… why oh why did she still long for him?

A calloused hand reached out and grabbed hold of her slim wrist.

"Don't go."

_He's so warm._ thought Sakura. How someone as cold as him could radiate such heat was a mystery.

The hand kept pulling her until she found herself sitting on the hospital bed, Sasuke's face just an inch from her own.

She eep-ed and tried to move away, the blush back on her face, but his hand was like an iron grip around her wrist.

She watched in open fascination as his hand slowly lifted up and rested tenderly against her cheek.

"Sakura, I'm…"

He gently stroked her cheek, enjoying how Sakura turned as red as the tomatoes she had been looking at this morning.

Her mouth opened, but he cut her off. "I'm sorry, Sakura." Not waiting to hear anything else, Sasuke leaned forward, and covered her mouth with his.

Too shocked to do anything, Sakura just sat there frozen, but Sasuke forged ahead anyways. He let go of her wrist and encircled her waist, pulling her closer to him. He sucked hungrily on her lower lip; his hand reaching up to tangle itself in her silky locks. Timidly, her hand crept up his chest, as she pressed herself closer to him.

Inner Sakura cheered and started doing cartwheels as his tongue swept across her lower lip before carefully entering her mouth.

Finally, he pulled away, his harsh breathing filling the room. She looked dazed, but her eyes were brighter than anything he had ever seen before. He decided that this was the way he wanted her to look every single day, with her hair slightly mused from his nimble fingers and her lips swollen from his ministrations. But most of all, he wanted to see that genuine smile that had made its way across her face.

She looked… happy.

And surprisingly, that meant everything to him.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun…"

He dropped a quick kiss on her lips as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Hn?"

"Welcome home."

** ---owari--- **

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AN: These one-shots are going to be based on the 30 kisses themes. I don't know if I'm actually going to submit them to a 30 kisses livejournal group. We'll see. 


	2. Sasuke Likes Taller Girls?

Theme # 28 – Wada Calcium CD3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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---**Sasuke-kun likes taller girls?**---

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"I can get around perfectly well by myself!"

The bell tinkled as the door to Konoha's apothecary swung open.

"Irasshai mase!" Sakuno scrambled up to greet the incoming customers, but it was clear to the old woman that they did not hear her.

The pink-haired medic-nin stormed in, obviously agitated. Her companion, on the other hand, was the complete opposite – stoic and composed – exactly what was expected from an Uchiha.

"I'm capable of running these errands. You _don't_ need to follow me around!"

"Hn."

"Are you listening to me, Sasuke-kun?"

"… Just hurry up."

A scowl appeared on Sakura's face. "Why?"

"Hn."

"Sasuke…"

The Uchiha recognized that dangerous tone. It was the same one he heard right before she punched him and sent him flying into the wall of Orochimaru's lair two years ago. He hastily replied, "It's getting dark."

Sakura's countenance brightened as she laughed and pointed to the sun shining brightly outside. "Sure, Sasuke-kun." She grasped his hand and pulled him over to the counter.

"Uchiha-sama," said Sakuno politely, giving a little bow. Turning to Sakura, she exclaimed, "Ah! Sakura-chan! I haven't seen you in here for ages!"

Smilingly, Sakura handed over a list of medicines and drugs, neatly written in her delicate handwriting. "Yes. It has been too long."

Sakuno set to work gathering the necessary items, but continued to chat with her customers. "I remember the last time I saw you in my shop." She grinned at Sakura, who blushed and mumbled out something unintelligible.

"What did you say, dear?"

"Could we not talk about this… Especially since the cause of that is standing right here?"

_That_ caught his attention. "What does this have to do with me?"

Bundling up everything into a brown paper bag, Sakuno smiled as Sakura unsuccessfully tried to convince Sasuke that it was just some silly story and he certainly didn't want to waste his time listening to nonsense.

Obviously, Sasuke didn't take that for an answer.

It was surprising to see the lone survivor of the Uchiha clan behave this way. Though it had been two years since he came back to Konoha, his personality had remained unchanged. He was still cold and indifferent to the people around him, with the exception of his former teammates. He rarely talked in public and when he did, his words were short and few.

But now, he was engaged in a 'Tell me.' 'No.' 'Tell me.' 'No!' battle with the Godaime's apprentice.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Fine. I'll ask Sakuno-san."

"Don't you dare!"

"Watch me. Sakuno-san, can you – "

"Don't tell him!" Frantically, Sakura grabbed hold of Sasuke's hand and had to summon her superhuman strength to drag him out. She called apologetically to Sakuno, "Bye, Sakuno-san! Thank you!" before disappearing from view with the Uchiha in tow.

---

**:: flashback ::**

_"Hey, forehead girl."_

_The blonde crouched low next to eight year old Sakura, who was carefully picking wildflowers in the meadow near the school. Sakura was so absorbed in deciding which flower to add to her bouquet that she didn't even hear Ino._

_"Forehead girl?"_

_Shove._

_"Owww… Ino, why did you do that?"_

_"You weren't listening to me. Here, I want to show you something!" _

_Sakura watched curiously as Ino pulled a little bottle out of her pocket and thrust it triumphantly into the air._

_"What's this?"_

_"Forehead girl, can't you read? These are _calcium pills_."_

_"…"_

_"…"_

_"What about them?"_

_Sigh. "Sakura, haven't you heard the news?"_

_Silence._

_"About Sasuke-kun?"_

_"Huh? What about Sasuke-kun?"_

_Ino grinned. "I _knew _you would start listening more carefully after that. I heard from very reliable sources that Sasuke-kun…" She let her voice trail off and looked Sakura in the eye to make sure she was listening._

_Sakura gestured for her to continue._

_The blonde leaned even closer as if she was about to disclose the biggest secret in the world. "… That Sasuke-kun likes taller girls." Ino happily waved the bottle around._

_---_

_The bell tinkled as the door to Konoha's apothecary swung open._

_"Irasshai mase!" Sakuno peered down at her and smiled warmly. "Well, if it isn't little Sakura-chan. What can I do for you, my dear?"_

_Sakura bit her lip nervously. In ten years, no one would have suspected that the beautiful and confident cherry blossom who practically ran Konoha's hospital was once this shy and timid girl._

_"Ano… Do… D-do you have any calcium pills?"_

_Sakuno swore that she saw this coming. Sakura was the eighth little girl today who came in, asking for calcium pills. _What's going on? Has a wave of osteoporosis suddenly swept Konoha?

_Pushing away her thoughts for a second, she kindly asked, "How many would you like?"_

_---_

_The setting sun saw Sakura out of the apothecary. Sakuno watched, bemused, at the startling contrast between the skinny girl and the two bulky bags that sandwiched her in the middle. _I'm willing to bet that that was all of her allowance.

_Letting out a little sigh, she turned and walked to the storage room in the back After spending a good ten minutes searching through and pushing away different boxes, Sakuno frowned. _I guess she really did buy all of them…

**:: end flashback ::**

---

Sasuke leaned over and pressed his lips against the side of his girlfriend's head, surprising both himself and Sakura. He wasn't the openly affectionate type, but somehow, he found her story incredibly endearing. To think that she would actually waste all of her money to buy those calcium pills…

"Baka…"

"Mou…" Sakura pouted, as she turned her head to look up at him. "You told me you weren't going to say anything!"

"How could I not? That was rather foolish of you."

She halted, and Sasuke had no choice but to stop walking as well. "I was little! I didn't know better."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "Oh? But surely you would have known better than to listen to Ino." He tugged on her hand, and once again, the two shinobi fell into a leisurely gait down the road.

"She's my friend. Of course I would listen to her."

"… Hn. Ino's usually wrong though."

Sakura gave him a light shove. "Hey. Watch it, buster. This is Ino we're talking about."

Slipping his hands into his pockets, he replied, "I'm just speaking from past experience. Wasn't Ino the one who suggested that I only wanted to date you, because I needed a 'baby-making machine'?"

"…"

"And I also recall Ino being the one who told you that I liked girls with long hair." He gently stroked her short pink locks, before letting his hand drop. "That turned out to be false as well."

Sakura blushed prettily from his touch, however brief it was.

"Besides, why would you ever think that I liked tall girls?"

They stopped in front of the Uchiha complex. Shrugging slightly, Sakura pushed open the gate and walked in. "I don't know. I guess I was kind of foolish back then, ne?"

"Absolutely."

"Hey!"

Sasuke winced as she punched him on the arm, none too gently. He smirked as she fumbled with the keys, before taking them out of her hand and opening the door himself. Sakura tore off her shoes and tossed them carelessly onto the ground. Frowning, he picked them up and carefully placed them on the shoe rack that would have remained unused if not for Sasuke's meticulous ways of living.

The Uchiha prodigy leaned against the counter of the kitchen as Sakura sorted out the day's purchases. "Honestly, what were you thinking, taking so many at once?"

Sakura scowled at him. "Quiet, you."

"I'm surprised you didn't get kidney stones from all that calcium."

"I'm trying to work!… I just wanted to grow taller, so you'd notice me." Sakura looked down suddenly, reminding Sasuke of the little girl she was when Team 7 first formed.

Giving a little sigh, Sasuke slid into the seat next to her. "Baka. Taking calcium pills won't make you taller. For the Godaime's apprentice, you sure aren't very bright."

The meek look disappeared from her face, and her eye twitched. "I was eight!"

He loved it when she looked like this, all fired up. It was so easy to tease her. Sliding his arm around her waist, he leaned close to her. "Hai, hai. But surely you know by now that I'm not interested in tall women at all."

Sakura bit her lip. She recognized that look in his eyes. It was the same look he gave her right before he… _Focus, Sakura! You have work to do. Can't. Let. Him. Distract. You._

Stroking her cheek lightly, he let his hand drop down to a certain part of her body and whispered in her ear. "I don't like my women taller than me."

Inwardly groaning, Sakura knew she had better wake up extra early tomorrow, because no way was any work going to be done tonight. Her voice went up a notch as he nibbled on her earlobe. "That's… because you're a control freak."

Pulling back and looking at her with darkened eyes, he let a lecherous smirk cross his face. "You weren't complaining about that last night."

Sakura blushed red.

"In fact, I distinctly remember you moaning – "

"Sasuke!"

---**owari**---

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AN: So sorry for the late update! I'm staying up pretty late to finish this. I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes. I didn't edit this very thoroughly. I'll do that tomorrow.

Not sure if I liked the way this turned out… Oh well.

I'm really into Prince of Tennis (Tennis no Ohjiisama) right now. Do you guys think I should start writing stuff for that too?


	3. In Which this Title is Too Long

Theme # 11 – Gardenia

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… dum de dum…

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---**In which Sakura refuses Sasuke's invitation to lunch and Sasuke accepts Sakura's inivitation to dinner**---

* * *

"Geez, why is Kakashi-sensei so late?" Naruto whined. 

"Hn."

Brushing the hair away from her eyes, Sakura tried to pacify the restless blonde ninja. "Naruto, I'm sure he'll come soon. You know how he's always late anyways."

"But it's been THREE hours!"

"Shut up, dobe. Your voice is giving me a headache."

"What did you call me, Sasuke-teme?!"

"You really can't hear, can you. I said, Shut. Up. Do. Be."

Naruto let out a battle cry as he jumped towards the Uchiha, only to be punched in the face by Sakura.

"Naruto," she steamed. "Leave Sasuke-kun ALONE."

"Hn." Smirk.

The three lapsed into silence again.

Tired and still a little sleepy, Sakura flopped down onto the ground and leaned against the bridge. Unable to withstand the silence, she faced Sasuke and tried to start up a conversation. However, she soon tired of the "Hn"s and turned to Naruto, who immediately began yammering away about ramen and how he was going to make ramen the official food of shinobi once he became Hokage.

POOF.

They all looked up, and before the copy-nin could say anything, Naruto and Sakura jumped to their feet to shout, "YOU'RE LATE!"

_Pfft,_thought Sasuke. _So childish. _

"Gomen, I was on my way here, but this little kid was stuck in –"

"LIAR!"

"… Naruto, you didn't even let me finish my story."

"Hmph." Naruto crossed his arms. "I don't need to hear the whole thing to know that you're lying."

Sakura brushed away the dust on her shorts. "Kaka-sensei, what are we doing today?" Even though Kakashi was technically no longer their teacher, the members of the former Team 7 still met on Sundays to train and spar under Kakashi's tutelage.

Peering at her over his ever-present orange book, Kakashi said, "Ah. I forgot. We're not going to do anything today. You can leave. Jaa ne."

"WHAT?!" screamed Naruto in indignation as their silver-haired teacher disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Quiet down, baka," snapped Sakura. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, since we have this day off, let's go hang out."

She regretted her words the instant they came out. _Why did I ask him that? He hates being asked out. Stupid habit. Stupid, stupid habit._

Casting her a bored look, the Uchiha "Hn"-ed before giving her a curt no.

He felt his chest tighten as her face fell, the way it always did when he rejected her. Refusing her invitations had become like a reflex after all these years. Though not one he wished he had. Too bad he would rather kiss Naruto's feet than admit that he actually might want to spend an afternoon with her.

_I knew that one was coming._ Sakura sighed inwardly. Plastering on a smile, she opened her mouth to tell Sasuke it was okay, maybe tomorrow, but another voice drowned out her words.

"YOSH! Come on, my youthful students!"

That was Gai's voice, which could only mean…

"SAKURA-SAN!"

Inner Sakura cringed.

Sasuke scowled.

"SAKURA-SAN!" A figured dressed in tight green spandex suddenly appeared right in front of Sakura and gave her a wide grin, complete with sparkling white teeth.

… "Uh. Hi, Lee-san."

Lee swooned at her melodious voice and conjured a bouquet of red roses out of nowhere.

Sasuke's scowl deepened as he stared at the bundle of flowers being thrust right underneath Sakura's chin. _Where had he been keeping those flowers? In his pants? Pathetic, fuzzy-eyebrows. _

Lee bowed before her. "Sakura-san, my love for you burns brighter than the flame of youth within my soul!"

Sakura tried to edge away from him as hearts starting pouring out of his eyes, but he grabbed her hand and thrust the bouquet of flowers into it.

Sasuke's eye twitched.

Naruto pushed Lee away from Sakura. "Why would she want to go out with you? We already know who she wants to date, and guess what? It's not you!"

The pink-haired kunoichi frowned at Naruto, before turning to address Lee. "Gomen, Lee-san. I can't accept this."

Looking forlornly at the roses now back in his hands, tears began to form. Alarmed, Sakura stepped forward to console him, but his head snapped up, eyes shining with determination.

"Don't worry, Sakura-san! I WILL become worthy of your love! I'll do 200 laps around Konoha everyday until you go out with me!" Having declared this vow, Lee dashed off, followed by a beaming Gai and an exasperated Tenten.

Sakura blinked.

Naruto and Sasuke glared at Lee's disappearing figure in the distance.

"Oi! Neji!" Gai called to the Byakugan user, who still stood near Team 7, leaning against a tree, arms crossed. "Let's go! Today may be the day where you blossom into the beautiful flower that you were destined to be!"

Pushing himself off the tree, he said to Gai, "I'll catch up with you guys later." He made his way over to Sakura.

"Haruno-san, a word please."

Her eyes widened, but she nodded her consent.

"In private."

Sasuke's gaze darted from Sakura to Neji and back again. He narrowed his eyes as Neji led Sakura away, trying to burn a hole in the Hyuuga's back with his ominous glare.

A chuckle from Naruto.

"Dobe, what are _you_ laughing about?"

The Kyuubi vessel grinned. "Looks like someone's a little possessive of his precious little Sakura-chan."

Snort. "Yeah right."

"Oh really? Then explain why you look like you want to slaughter Neji right now."

_Damn._ "I… don't."

It was now Naruto's turn to snort. He opened his mouth to let out another cheeky comment, but after seeing Sasuke's face, he decided against it.

"Sasuke-teme, let's go. Sakura will find us later."

"Hn." The Sharingan user made no attempt to move.

"Ramen, my treat," offered Naruto generously, knowing completely well that Sasuke would refuse. And sure enough…

"I'll stay here."

Naruto smiled.

---

How long could two people talk? This was taking way too long in his opinion. And he definitely didn't like the carefree way Sakura conversed with Neji. It was like… like they were friends.

At last, the two parted, with Sakura calling out cheerfully, "See you later, Neji-san!" and the Hyuuga giving her a brief nod.

"Sasuke-kun? Naruto?" Her voice was puzzled. "Why are you guys still here?"

"Sasuke-teme here wanted to wait for you," said Naruto with a sly smile.

Glare. "Hn."

"Ah." Pause. "You didn't have to, though."

"Oh no, we had to. Sasuke wanted to treat the two of us to some ramen." Okay, that was pushing it a little too far, but Naruto obviously liked to live life on the edge.

_Sasuke-kun… wants to treat us to ramen? What?_ "Is that true, Sasuke-kun?"

_Damn that Naruto. But I'd rather have Sakura near so I can keep an eye on her. And keep her away from that Neji… _"… Yes."

_I'm the ultimate match-maker! _thought Naruto gleefully, as he started heading towards the Ichiraku Ramen Bar.

"Wait."

They looked at her.

"I can't go."

…

"Wah! Sakura-chan, why not?"

Eyebrow raise from Sasuke.

"I… I promised to meet Neji for lunch." She looked anxiously at the two of them. "You guys don't mind, right? I mean, I already promised Neji, and you can't really go back on a promise… And it's not like this is the only time we can hang out, and…"

Naruto cut in. "It's okay, Sakura-chan. We don't mind. _Right, Sasuke?_"

Sasuke made no reply and walked away.

"Sasuke-kun!"

His shoulders stiffened.

"You're not upset, are you?"

The concern in her voice was too blatant to miss, and for some odd reason, that bothered him. He opened his mouth without thinking, and he next words that came out of his mouth were probably the worst ones he could have chosen. "Hn. I don't care."

He didn't look back as the distance between him and Sakura grew. He _couldn't_ look back. Couldn't stand to see the look of hurt on her face. If it bothered him so much to see her upset, then why did he keep hurting her? Stupid habit. Stupid, stupid habit.

---

"Hyuuga."

He landed noiselessly in front of the Byakugan user.

"Uchiha."

Sasuke glared at him.

Neji merely smirked. "I don't have time for exchanging pleasantries; I have business to attend to."

"… She's taken."

The Hyuuga let out an inward snort. The fool actually thought he was interested in Sakura. She hadn't told Sasuke that their lunch "date" was actually just to discuss an upcoming mission?

_In that case…_Neji thought. _ I'll have some fun with him then._

Aloud, he asked loftily, "By who? You?"

The Uchiha's glare intensified, if that was even possible, but he didn't answer.

_This is too easy. He can't even bring himself to say that she's his._ "I see. That's what I thought." He side-stepped Sasuke as he continued on his way.

"She's not yours to claim."

Neji turned around. "Oh, and if that's the case, then why did she agree to go out with me?"

"…" If looks could kill, then Neji would have been slaughtered and brought back to life eleven times already and then slain again.

"You're clearly in no position to tell me – "

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

The white eyed ANBU captain scoffed. "Then why are _you_ still alive?"

"…"

"…"

"Stay away from her."

And then he disappeared from sight.

Neji smirked. _Too easy._

---

'Attacked by enemy shinobi on second day…' scribbled Sasuke as he took a bite of the stuffed tomato. 'Easily taken care of. Injuries to the team: Tenten was grazed on the cheek by a kunai…"

Just then, his phone rang.

"Hn. Uchiha residence."

"Sasuke-teme, what are you doing at home?!"

"Dobe, what do you want?"

Sasuke could just imagine the grin on the other boy's face. "C'mon! Let's go spy on Sakura and Neji."

_Neji._ His hand unconsciously tightened on the receiver. _That evil fiend of a…_

"Hey, hurry up. They're at – "

Click.

A few blocks away, the blonde ninja frowned. _He hung up on me._

---

Ever since that phone call, the Uchiha found it impossible to concentrate. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he glanced down at his mission report. The last sentence he had written was 'Tenten was grazed on the cheek by a kunai'; he had spent a good hour doodling and trying to remember what happened after Tenten was scratched.

Amidst the drawings of a decapitated Neji, a hanged Neji, a Neji riddled with kunais, and a Neji being stewed in a giant pot of boiling goo, was a tiny sketch of Sakura. _Damn. How did that get there?_

He scribbled over it. Leaning back in his chair, Sasuke thought, _I might as well go out. I'm not getting anything done._

Depositing his empty plate into the sink, the Uchiha headed out.

---

After aimlessly wandering about, Sasuke found himself in front of the Yamanaka's flower shop. The usual flower display on the outside was gone, meaning that if Sasuke wanted to buy flowers, he would have to actually enter the shop. _But why would I want to get flowers anyways?_

However, that thought didn't stop him from pushing the door open and stepping inside.

---

"Welcome! Hold on, I'll be out there in just a second!" called Ino from the back, after hearing the door open. Stashing the flower pots on a shelf, she dashed out, smiling cheerfully and almost tripping over a fallen bundle of flowers.

"Hi, welcome to Yamanaka's flower shop! How can I – " She saw Sasuke and froze.

Silence.

And then…

"SASUKE-KUN!"

Though his face was apathetic as always, inside, he cringed. Hadn't she gotten over that phase yet?

Ino gleefully flung her arms around Sasuke's neck.

"Ino… please get off of me."

"Ah Sasuke-kun! It's so good to see you! Did you come over to see meee?"

"…"

Releasing him, much to Sasuke's relief, Ino wagged her finger at him. "If you're here to ask me on a date, I'll have to decline." She splayed her fingers apart so that he could clearly see the ring on her finger. "I'm taken."

Sasuke snorted. _Thank god. I pity Shikamaru._

"So… Are you here to get flowers for Sakura?" asked Ino with a gleam in her eye.

"…"

He didn't want to get flowers for Sakura. How had Ino gotten _that _idea? However… if he gave flowers to Sakura, then he knew for sure that she would leave Neji and come to him. That didn't mean he had to reciprocate any of her feelings, of course. It just ensured that she'd leave Neji. _Hah. That'll teach that pompous asshole How dare he question me._

"Now, now. Don't be shy." Ino grinned. "Well, first of all, what are your intentions?"

"Hn?"

"As in, what are these flowers for?"

"…"

Ino mentally slapped her forehead. Good grief, he was hopeless. "I mean, what are you trying to say to her by giving her these flowers? 'I love you'? 'Congratulations'? 'I want to surprise you and whisk you away to the beach for a long night of playful romping'?"

Sasuke scowled at the last one.

"… I'm kidding."

_This is ridiculous. Just give me the damn flowers so I can go rub it in Neji's face._

"Here." Ino handed him a small bouquet.

Sasuke stared down at the white flowers. "Huh?"

"Gardenias," supplied Ino. "They're her favorite."

"Ah." Pause. "How much?"

Smoothing down her hair, Ino said, "It's on the house. Just… just make her happy."

"…"

---

Humming quietly to herself, Sakura happily stirred a pot of ramen on her stove. Today had been a lot of fun. Even though Sasuke had rejected her again, lunch with Neji was extremely nice. True, it had only been to brief her about a future mission, but Neji had provided her with excellent conversation. She enjoyed the friendly banter that passed between them.

Turning off her stove, Sakura smiled with satisfaction and poured the noodles into her bowl.

"Hn."

Sakura jumped.

And succeeded in spilling her dinner on the floor.

"Shit," she cursed and spun around. "Oh."

"Hn."

"How did you get in here?!"

"… The door was unlocked."

Putting her hands on her hips, Sakura frowned. "You can't just go waltzing into another person's house. At least knock, for heaven's sake."

"…"

Sighing, Sakura turned from him and grabbed a towel from the counter to wipe up the mess. "There goes my meal," she muttered. To Sasuke, she asked, "Is there something you wanted?"

"Here."

Sasuke held out the flowers, as Sakura faced him, dirty rag in hand.

"Oh!" exclaimed Sakura. "They're beautiful. How did you know that I loved gardenias?"

"Hn."

"Hold on," said Sakura. She dropped the rag into the sink and quickly washed her hands. Then graciously, she took the bouquet from him. Taking a deep whiff of their fragrance, Sakura smiled into the blossoms.

Now that he had given her the flowers, Sasuke eagerly turned to leave, before she started spewing any sort of lovesick confessions to him. Though he suddenly realized, she hadn't done that in years.

"Wait."

He paused, but didn't face her.

…

He felt the pressure on his arm first. Then he was spun around and just as he was able to properly focus his eyes on her, he felt the pressure of her lips on his. Before he had time to respond, she pulled away, flushing profusely.

"Gomen," apologized Sakura. "I won't do it again; it's just that – "

Letting the color fill his cheeks for an all-time record of 3 seconds, Sasuke shook his head lightly. "It's okay."

She smiled in relief. "Ne, Sasuke-kun. Do you want to stay for dinner? I can whip up another batch of ramen right away!"

_She never quits, does she._ Sasuke opened his mouth to give her his usual curt "no", but found himself accepting her request instead.

Sakura beamed at him. "Okay, just sit over there, and we'll have dinner in 5 minutes!"

Slightly dazed, Sasuke lowered himself into a chair. _Did I just say yes? Why would I say yes… What the hell…_

But after watching his pink haired teammate whiz around the kitchen, hurriedly trying to cook up more noodles before he could back out, the lone Uchiha survivor relaxed into his seat. He would talk to her about Neji later.

_Mental note to self: Buy more gardenias in the future._

After all, that kiss had been rather nice.

---**owari**---

* * *

AN: Huzzah. Another one done. I wish I could have expanded more on some of the parts, but then it would be toooo long. I'll do that in future one-shots. Maybe I'll do a continuation of this one so that we can have a jealous Sasuke arguing with Sakura about her relationship with Neji. Yay. 

Must also get around to writing some angst. Just because I read so much of it.

And must also get around to brainstorm about a PoT fic.


	4. Misunderstandings

Theme #3 – jolt!

Disclaimer: same as always.

* * *

**---Misunderstandings---**

* * *

"Sakura, this isn't the way home." 

"Oh, I know that."

_That's what you say, yet you continue to walk in the wrong direction._

A strong hand gripped her elbow, forcing her to come to a stop.

"Eh, what is it, Sasuke-kun?"

Piercing onyx eyes surveyed her.

"Where are we going?"

Sakura smiled.

"To see Neji-san, of course."

Just the sound of the Hyuuga's name made his countenance visibly darken, but Sakura failed to notice that. Or maybe she just decided to ignore it.

"… Why?"

If it had been anyone else, Sakura would have said that sounded suspiciously like a whine. But of course, Uchiha Sasuke never whined. Never.

"Why?"

This time, his voice was sharper. Insistent. It demanded an answer.

Patting his cheek, to which he instantly pulled away from, Sakura said cheerfully, "I need to give Neji-san a check-up."

---

The pink-haired medic-nin and blue-haired ANBU member stood outside the apartment door.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, who would have thought that Neji-san would decide to live away from the Hyuuga complex?"

"…"

Leaning forward to rap on the door for a second time, Sakura continued, "I always thought Hinata would be the first to leave, so she could go live with Naruto. But I guess she enjoys seeing him suffer whenever he comes to take her out for dinner."

Sasuke looked away, disinterested in anything concerning the blonde shinobi.

"Then again, I think anyone would feel uncomfortable in the presence of Hiashi-sama."

"Why are we here?"

Putting her hands on her hips, Sakura frowned at him.

"Sasuke-kun, I told you. I have to check up on Neji-san."

His handsome face twisted into an annoyed scowl.

"Why can't he go to the hospital?" _Like a normal person._

Sighing, Sakura knocked against the wood for the third time.

"Neji-san doesn't like hospitals. So it's much easier for me to come to see him."

_Neji-san. Neji-san. Neji-san. How much longer until it became 'Neji-kun'?_ The scowl increased tenfold. _When that day comes, I'll be sure to smash his face into a wall. And crush him into particles._

The door swung open.

"Finally!" said Sakura.

And a freshly-showered bare-chested Neji, complete with dripping wet hair and a white fluffy towel wrapped around his lower body, stood in the doorway.

---

The room was silent except for the sound of hot green tea being carefully poured into small clay tea cups.

At length, Neji, now clad in a beige velvet robe, brought over a plate of green tea cookies and said, "I apologize for making you come all the way here."

Having gotten over her shock of seeing the Hyuuga answer the door in such a state of undress, the pink-haired kunoichi waved away his apology.

"It was no trouble for us. Right, Sasuke-kun?"

Lounging in his seat, the Uchiha only glared at Neji.

"Riiight?"

"Hn."

Inwardly sighing at Sasuke's childish behavior, Sakura said, "Well, we don't want to waste your time, Neji-san." She rolled up her sleeves, looked towards Sasuke, and said, "Sasuke-kun, do you mind stepping outside?"

"… Hn."

But he made no move to get up.

Good grief, she should have known better than to bring him along. Sakura looked helplessly at Neji.

Rising from his seat, the Byakugan user said smoothly, "Haruno-san, we can go into my room."

Casting him a grateful look, Sakura rose as well and followed him through a doorway on the left.

The door closed.

Leaving Sasuke alone in the living room.

He took a sip of his tea and savagely bit into a cookie, the scowl still displayed on his face. That Neji. Damn him. Who knew what he was capable of doing in a room with Sakura?

Logical Sasuke slapped him. _Sakura is there as a medic-nin. She's there to treat his wounds. Not as… as a… _Logical Sasuke's cheeks turned slightly red. _Not a-as a whor – I mean, a… uh…yeah._

_Yeah!_ cried Romantic Sasuke. _Have you no faith in our lover?_

_She's not our lover!_ snapped Avenger Sasuke, Sharingan eyes flashing dangerously.

Romantic Sasuke smiled dreamily. _But she soon will be. Ahhhh. Sakura... So beautiful…_

Avenger Sasuke snorted. _You're pathetic._

_We have to kill him. He's in there. Alone. With our Sakura-koi,_ said Possessive Sasuke darkly.

Logical Sasuke sighed. _Is no one listening to me? Nothing is going to happen between Neji and Sakura._

_… So?_ asked Possessive Sasuke. _He's still in her presence. She's _our _Sakura-koi. Not his. He has _no_ right to be in the same room as her._

Romantic Sasuke trilled, _We must have faith in Sakura-hime! Let's go buy her a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates!_

Another snort from Avenger Sasuke. _Who cares about flowers. Let's go kill that Hyuuga instead._

Sakura's shocked voice from the other room silenced the arguing Sasukes in his head.

"Maa… It looks even _bigger_ than last time."

Sasuke almost choked on his cookie. Hurriedly, he reached for some tea to wash it down.

"And even _harder_."

Neji's faint chuckle drifted over to the Uchiha's horrified ears.

"No need to look so surprised, Sakura. You know what to expect from me."

_'Sakura'? When did 'Haruno-san' become 'Sakura'? When they were alone together? … Oh damn. When they're_ alone. Together._ Oh damn._

Possessive Sasuke angrily waved an axe in the air. _We must kill him. NOW. He's been fornicating with OUR Sakura-koi!_

Avenger Sasuke's eyes gleamed hungrily. _Another person for me to plot revenge against. Must kill, kill, kill! _He laughed wickedly with delight.

Exasperated, Logical Sasuke threw up his hands. _Why does NO ONE listen to me? We can't jump to conclusions! Many a shinobi have fallen due to their inability to think things through._

Sasuke's grip on the clay tea cup tightened, as he heard Neji's next words.

"Aren't you going to _massage_ it for me?"

Seething, Sasuke set his cup down none-too-gently and got to his feet. He was just about to barge right through the door and tear Neji's head off with his bare hands when Sakura's tinkling laughter floated into the room.

"Wow, aren't you demanding today?"

Something in her voice stopped him. It sounded as if… almost as if she were teasing him. Which meant she clearly enjoyed Neji's advances towards her… Which meant…

Romantic Sasuke wailed loudly. _We've lost her! She's been lured in by that horrid Hyuuga! Our love for her was not strong enough. _He sniffled dejectedly and blew noisily into his baby blue handkerchief.

_We can't jump to conclusions, _repeated Logical Sasuke, but he didn't sound as confident as before.

Slowly, Sasuke edged towards the door. He suddenly jumped as Neji let out a small sigh of relief, but to Sasuke's crazed jealous mind, it sounded like a wild moan of pleasure.

"Is this to your liking, Neji-san?" came Sakura's melodious voice.

Another sigh/frenzied cry of lust.

"Don't stop, Sakura."

Possessive Sasuke shouted furiously, _Enough! We must stop him! He's being touched by our Sakura-koi!_

_Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill… _cackled Avenger Sasuke, as he charged up his Chidori.

Big fat tears rolled down Romantic Sasuke's saddened face.

Logical Sasuke remained silent.

_Charge through that door THIS instant and rip off Neji's vile manparts!_demanded Possessive Sasuke in a fit of rage. _NO ONE should EVER touch OUR Sakura-koi!_

And that's exactly what Sasuke did.

---

Okay, no. Sasuke didn't tear off anything from Neji's body, but he did cause quite a commotion when he burst through the door, jealousy and rage etched all over his face.

He stared at the scene before him.

Sakura and Neji stared back at him.

…

Inwardly, Sasuke hurled curses at his four inner personalities, all of which had become uncharacteristically quiet.

The medic-nin had been standing behind Neji, her hands, bright with chakra, hovering over a large purple bruise on the ANBU captain's back.

Sasuke felt very foolish. Very foolish. So that's what Neji meant when he said 'massage.'

The Hyuuga raised an amused eyebrow.

"Something you needed help with?"

Sakura looked curiously at him.

"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

Using all of his shinobi skills and training, Sasuke managed to not stammer as he replied, "Nothing. I just thought that the check-up was taking rather long."

Neji was no idiot; he was considered a genius after all. Realization quickly flashed in his pearly white eyes, and his lips curled up into a smirk.

"Uchiha, we've only been in this room for 3 minutes. Surely you couldn't have missed Haruno-san _that_ much."

Sasuke boiled in his skin. How dare that bastard taunt him. And that jab at his relationship with Sakura… How dare he. Sasuke itched to send the kunai in his pocket straight through Neji's head, if that was even possible.

"Uh, Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura hesitantly. "I'll be done in just a minute. You can wait for me outside."

"…"

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn. I'm leaving."

And with that, he turned on his heel and walked resolutely out.

Sakura looked up in alarm.

"Sasuke-kun! Where are you going? Don't go yet; I'm not done!"

Torn between running after her love and staying back to treat her patient, Sakura decided that she had a job to do, and she would see to it that it was completed first.

But that didn't mean she wasn't in a hurry to finish.

As soon as her chakra had reduced the bruise to almost nothing, she practically sprinted out the door, calling apologetically to Neji, "Gomen, Neji-san, but I really have to go!"

---

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!"

He could hear her frantic footsteps growing louder and louder.

A hand gripped his shoulder and yanked him back.

The Sharingan user stared apathetically at Sakura's flushed face.

"What is wrong with you?!" she demanded. "You can't just leave me like that. It's rude."

"Hn."

'What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Stop lying to me!" cried Sakura, the confusion and hurt clearly visible in her voice.

_God, she's so annoying, _thought Sasuke, as he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close. Pressing his lips against hers briefly, he successfully cut off whatever complaint Sakura had to hurl at him. He scanned the area around them, making sure none had witnessed the kiss. Then, he let go of her waist and grasped her hand.

"Nothing's wrong. Let's go home."

And Sakura was too dazed to argue.

**---owari---**

* * *

AN: I suppose you could view this as a companion to the previous chapter. Then Sasuke won't seem as OOC for kissing her out of the blue. 

Speaking of blue, would you describe Sasuke's hair as blue or black? It looks black, but it also looks like there's some blue in there. Blue black? Dark navy blue? Just plain black? I actually spent 10 minutes staring at pictures trying to figure this out. I have no life.

I bet you guys could see the whole Sasuke-thinking-Neji-and-Sakura-were-going-at-it-when-they-actually-weren't thing a mile away. Bleh. I'll have to work on being more vague next time. But then again, the title basically gives it away.

Sorry if Neji was a little out of character, but he had to be, otherwise things wouldn't work out.

Writing Sasuke's inner personalities was so much fun. I should include them in another one, huh.

And take a look at my TezuFuji fic, _Story of Our Lives_, when you guys have the time. I'll be updating that one soon.

And I re-edited chapters 2 and 3. Actually I just put in the divider lines. The lack of divider lines was bugging me.

Sigh. My grandmother's in the hospital. And my mom's flying out of the country to see her tonight. We don't know if she's going to make it. Life is so depressing. First my dad, and now possibly my grandmother.


	5. Lies

Theme #25 – fence.

Disclaimer: same as before.

* * *

Thank you all for the reviews. I appreciate them so much. It's good to have feedback and to know that people out there enjoy my writing. 

For the people who asked me questions:

**XXDragonheart6XX – **The one-shots are related in the sense that they're all about SasuSaku, but apart from that, I wouldn't say they're related at all. Some are companion fics, like chapter 3 and 4, but most of them aren't going to be in sequential order. I hope that answers your question.

**Lady Kunoichi **– The 30 Kisses communities I'm aware of are: community. and

community. . And you can also check out their affiliates, like 30 Hugs and 30 Dates.

**Mafis** – the suffix _hime_ means princess, and _koi_ stands for _koibito_, which means lover or love. Or sweetheart.

* * *

My pathetic attempt at writing some mild angst. Try not to cringe so much. Slight AU. Possible OOC? ALSO. READ THE A/N. (at the end.)

* * *

**---Lies---**

* * *

She was twelve when he first left. 

It was a chilly night, made even colder by the careless way he threw his words at her, as cold as icicles, cruelly piercing her young girlish heart. Oddly enough, it wasn't until then that she realized just how important he was to her. Everyone in the village knew of Sakura's obsession over the Uchiha prodigy, but they merely dismissed it as an infatuation with his looks and abilities.

In the back of her head somehow, she had thought that way as well.

But on that night, Sakura was finally able to comprehend the idea of how dismal her life would be without him in it.

Despite his cold silence and brutal words, she couldn't imagine not waking up every morning and hurriedly rushing over to the bridge to greet him. She couldn't fathom not being able to ask him out everyday, even if her advances were aloofly pushed aside. As she stood there before him, eyes brimming with tears, futilely begging him to stay, Sakura realized that _he_ was _her_ most precious person.

And as her fragile heart began to crack, she realized just how deeply she had fallen in love with him.

-----------

Three years passed before she saw him again.

In person, that is.

For he never strayed too far from her thoughts. At night, she dreamt of him so often that after a while, she began to look forward to falling asleep. She knew that was the only place where she would be reunited with him – at least for a short while.

He had changed quite a bit. Aside from his new, somewhat eccentric in her opinion, attire, Sakura could have sworn that the new look in his eyes was one that she had never seen before.

But when he turned to give her a small smile, for the first time ever, she thought her heart would burst with happiness.

It was as if all those years of yearning and sorrow had evaporated into thin air, and now, that dark cloud of gloom in her love life had at last drifted away, leaving only joy and love and Sasuke.

In spite of this, a small desperate voice in the back of her head screamed hysterically that something was wrong, but she thoughtlessly suppressed it as she rushed forward to throw her arms around him.

-----------

Three years later, he left again.

This time, it was not to seek more power, but to finally end the life of the one who had ended his mother's.

When he announced to them that he would be parting ways to hunt down Itachi, she was not at all surprised. He had been training vigorously, more so than usual, for the past few weeks, and she knew that he would be waltzing out of her life again.

Even so, her heart still ached at the thought of him leaving. Leaving Naruto, leaving Kakashi, leaving… her.

But right before he stepped through the gates, he pulled her aside and pressed a small wooden box into her hands.

"Wait for me," he said, and a rush of delight swept through her, but she couldn't help but notice how blank his eyes were. Those onyx eyes were no longer cold, but instead, they had turned apathetic and lifeless.

Without warning, he leaned forward and awkwardly pressed his lips against hers. It was only for a split second, but in that time, Sakura felt her mind reel with pleasure, yet her body seemed to protest vehemently against his touch. For some odd reason, her shoulders had stiffened and her fists throbbed with an unexplainable urge to send him flying away.

She squashed down that idea and managed to smile at him as he pulled away, but no blush appeared on her face and her shoulders refused to relax.

When he was but a speck in the distance, the pink-haired kunoichi looked down in surprise at her suddenly smarting hands. From the stinging half moons on her palms, small streams of red flowed angrily down her fingers and dripped slowly onto the dirt.

-----------

Later that night, Sakura slipped quietly into her room and gently pulled the covers back before sliding in. Leaning back against the headboard, she rubbed her eyes and then stared at the glossiness of the dark cherry wood box. Curiosity finally getting the best of her, she hesitantly reached over and brought it to her lap.

She was dying to see what Sasuke had given her, but that voice in her head viciously warned her that it would bring her no good, only more pain.

She didn't believe it. How could a mere gift cause her any more heartache than she had already gone through? And Sasuke had changed. He was now closer to her than ever, and she knew that he would never hurt her.

Willingly, the voice snapped in a hiss.

Sakura frowned. What did it mean by 'willingly'? How could Sasuke unwillingly harm her? If Sasuke wanted nothing to happen to her, then she was sure that nothing would.

Smiling now, she flipped open the lid and gasped.

Nestled in a cluster of pink rose petals lay a silver engagement ring.

Complete with a tiny Uchiha crest inside the band.

Mind drowning in ecstasy, she picked up the ring and eagerly slipped it on. But as she held her hand away for further inspection, she found that despite its beauty, it simply didn't look right.

Ridiculous, she thought. How could anything from her Sasuke-kun not look as if it was made especially for her ?

But even as this passed through her head, she pulled the silver band off her finger and dropped it back into the box.

-----------

Six months flew by.

Then, on the second Friday of November, word traveled throughout Konoha that Uchiha Sasuke had been seen walking through the gates early that morning.

Sakura had been in the middle of a meeting with Tsunade about a new healing jutsu the Hokage had discovered on a recent visit to the Kazekage, when Konohamaru burst through the doors shouting that Sakura had better go home, take a shower, and put on some lingerie because her lover had returned.

Only he said it in much cruder terms.

Konohamaru had matured somewhat, but being Naruto's shadow definitely left permanent scars. He had also inherited Jiraiya's impeccable seduction skills, and the current rumor circulating through the Leaf was that he was attempting to court Ino, much to the annoyance of Shikamaru.

Normally, such remarks from the Sandaime's grandson would usually result in an emergency visit to the hospital, but today, both kunoichi were too stunned to reply.

-----------

Sakura stood, panting, in front of the Uchiha compound. Bent over, she rested her hands on her knees as she fought to catch her breath.

Looking back, she would lament that she had not used her chakra to speed her along, but at that moment, she was far too disoriented to even think of that.

Nobody was around; she couldn't sense anyone's chakra, and the one place where she used to dream of living in looked the same as it always did. As far as she could tell, no one had entered for half a year.

The gate opens when you actually push on it, came a smooth drawl from beside her.

Startled, she turned and almost smashed into the sole member of the Uchiha clan. Face flushed in embarrassment, she looked up and tried to rearrange her harried face into a somewhat pleasing countenance. Immediately, she caught sight of his bloody arm, and her medic instincts kicked in.

The romantic scenes her treacherous mind had been imagining flew out of her head, as she gripped him by his other arm and marched him through the gates to properly bandage his wounds.

-----------

Have you thought about my proposal, he asked after she had patched him up.

Halfway through rolling up the remaining bandages, Sakura froze. She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

You're not wearing your ring, he observed quietly.

She didn't answer him, but stood to throw the bloody cloths away. He didn't speak again until she had finished putting everything away.

Taking hold of her hand, he asked her the one question she had been forever hoping to hear. He didn't even wait for her reply, but ploughed on to confess his feelings for her and his desire for her to be his.

But his words fell on deaf ears, for Sakura was only taking note of how those onyx orbs seemed to tell a different story.

-----------

As she lay in bed hours later, she wondered just how things had turned out this way.

Something was definitely wrong, she could no longer deny. She should be ecstatically happy. Right now, she should be chatting excitedly with Ino about the drastic turn in events and enthusiastically discussing plans for the wedding. She shouldn't be curled up in bed, facing away from her future husband. She shouldn't feel as if she had just made the worst mistake of her life.

Her despondent musings were cut short by the stirring beside her, and she flinched as his arm draped over her waist and pulled her close.

When they were in the kitchen, by the time he had finished talking, her hand had been retracted and she was situated against the very back of the chair, as far away from him as her body could possibly be. Her body seemed to urge her to flee or simply refuse him, but her traitorous mind took control of her mouth and said the very words he wanted to hear and the very words she now wished she could take back.

Once he heard her reply, he pulled her to her feet and roughly claimed her mouth with his. From that point on, it was all a blur for her. Amidst his roaming hands and their discarded clothing, the only thing she remembered was that she didn't want it to happen like this.

Not when everything didn't feel right.

Sasuke must not have noticed her unresponsiveness, and her mind kept insisting to her, even through the pain, that this was what she wanted.

-----------

Everyone knew by now what had transpired between the two.

Or at least, they thought they did.

In their eyes, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke were perfect for each other, and because Sakura had pined fruitlessly after him for so long, Konoha was eager to see their beloved medic nin walk down the aisle into her fairytale ending.

The old ladies sighed dreamily and reminisced about being young and in love. The young girls squealed and giggled delightfully whenever the newly engaged passed by. The old men smiled fondly and reached for their wives' hands, but secretly envied Sasuke for getting his hands on such a fine figure of a woman. The young boys just stared at Sakura's chest until their mothers noticed and slapped them upside the head for such indecent staring.

And every single person in the village had personally made his way to Sakura and congratulated her on being able to snag Sasuke after all.

She blushed and thanked them, but inside, turmoil raged. She was unable to figure out what was keeping her from accepting Sasuke's advances. At least, she had deduced that the trouble did not lie in her, but in Sasuke.

Something about him set off alarm bells inside, even though her lovesick mind kept reassuring her that this was natural and Sasuke was meant for her.

Well, she still had fifteen days left.

-----------

Two weeks later, Sakura stood before the Godaime, flowing silk white dress on, about to become Uchiha Sakura.

By Sasuke's request, the wedding was held outside, in an open meadow. Half, no, more than half of the village had assembled to witness the union of the two people who they believed to be true soul mates – perfect halves of one another.

It was rather nerve-wracking, she thought. It took all of her strength to not bolt and head straight towards the Sand.

She was so immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear Tsunade call her name.

Sasuke gently nudged her, and she jumped. Everyone chuckled, thinking to themselves that the Uchiha had gotten himself a rather jittery bride.

Tsunade tried again.

Sakura's head began to throb uncontrollably, and she was barely able to comprehend the ritual question of whether or not she would agree to love him against all odds and to accept him as her husband.

She must have answered in the affirmative, because people began to smile and got ready to clap their hands and whoop.

Turning to Sasuke, Tsunade repeated the question for him as well.

Sakura intently watched his facial expressions as he replied, especially when he agreed that he would love her for the rest of their days.

And then it hit her.

The truth really did hurt, and this time, it came harsher than the regular old slap in the face and twist in the gut. It hurt so much she forgot to breathe; her skin was being ripped away and doused with alcohol; her body was being split in two.

As she stared into his vacant eyes, she realized that he would never love her. He could never love her. And not because he didn't want to love her, but because he _couldn't _love her.

Sasuke was no longer able to feel.

And her world shattered.

**---owari---**

* * *

A/N: Lots of things to explain – **1:** I'm so sorry you guys had to read through this crap. I really have a long way to go before I can write decent angst. To be honest, I almost didn't want to post this after I finished, because I thought it just sucked like crazy. But I didn't update 30 Kisses for such a long time, so I felt I had to at least post something. To make it up to you guys, when I'm done with 30 Kisses completely (haha, who knows when _that'll_ be), I'll re-write this one and make it better. Thanks for having the courage to read it. :) 

**2:** I think the story might be kind of confuzzling for you. So basically, Sakura's torn between two emotions. She wants to accept him and live the fairytale life she always dreamed about with him, but on the other hand, some sort of gut feeling is nagging away at her and telling her that something isn't right. But because she's pined after him for so long, her mind is carried away by thoughts of "Love always prevails!" and she agrees to his proposal. But finally, at the wedding, she realizes that Sasuke didn't love her, because during his time with Orochimaru, he "lost" the ability to love. And so all that she dreamed of is gone, and everything he has told her is a lie, because he will never be able to love her, even if he wanted to.

**3:** "fine figure of a woman" is from _Great Expectations._ It's how Joe refers to Mrs. Joe.

**4:** Feedback would be most appreciated, as I seriously need improvement in the angst department.

**5:** THIS WILL BE REWRITTEN. It has to, I just decided. It's really unclear about certain things, and when I have the patience, I'll revise it, so it's more understandable.

**6:** What's coming up in the future? Well, I'll probably be writing more horrible angst. Haha no. Actually, yes I will. I need to keep writing to improve, but I'll try not to post the really bad ones here. I think the next one will have to be a light-hearted one, since this one has dragged me down into the dirt.

**7:** Thank you for reading! I know it was difficult, but I hope you guys aren't too scarred.

I hate this one. Poo.


	6. What's That on Your Face, Sasukekun?

Theme #19 – red.

Disclaimer: same as before.

Note: Crack.

To make up for the semi-angst last time, I opted to write some humorous semi-fluff. Enjoy. :)

Dedicated to my brother, who hopefully will never see this, but his face was my inspiration for this story.

* * *

**---What's That on Your Face, Sasuke-kun?---**

* * *

"_Morning, Sasuke-kun! Wake up, wake up, wake up! Are you awake yet? Do I need to sing a good morning---_" 

Head poking out from under the covers, Sasuke reached over and hurriedly turned off the alarm before Sakura's off-key voice could burst into song. He rolled over onto her side of the bed and stared lazily at the ceiling, as he waited for his sleep-blurred eyes to focus.

Bright blinding rays of mid-morning sunshine burst through the equally blinding pink curtains that Sakura had so carefully chosen. He propped himself up on one elbow and squinted at the time.

8: 45.

A small smile almost crept onto his face as he realized that Sakura had reset his alarm clock to let him sleep in later. She must have noticed how exhausted he was upon his return from the two week mission in the Sand. The trip back hadn't been pleasant; they had run into several difficulties that had to be dealt with.

Things could have been handled much better, mused Sasuke as he rubbed his aching shoulder. With an inaudible sigh, he swung his legs over and onto the floor and groggily made his way to the bathroom.

----------

Sasuke could get slightly careless in the mornings. Easy proof was in the way he splashed cold water over his face, and somehow, it ended up everywhere else around him. Sakura would have a fit when she came back for lunch.

He scowled as he remembered that Naruto was expecting him at nine o'clock, and he still hadn't finished that mission report.

As he reached for the pink little washcloth on the pink plastic towel rack (Sakura clearly had a fetish with pink), he glanced up at the mirror to gauge just how badly his perfectly spiked hair had been marred by the previous night's activities.

But instead of the messy mop of hair, he zeroed in on the center of his face, and his eyes widened with pure unadulterated horror.

----------

Sakura smiled gently as she closed the door to the children's ward. Something about their easy and unguarded smiles, so full of hope, always tugged at her heartstrings. Sasuke might consider that a weakness, but to her, it only meant that she loved children. And that maybe it was time to finally have one of her own.

But Sasuke… Sakura grinned at the thought of Sasuke being a father. She could just see him, looking extremely awkward while holding a squirming baby in his arms and trying his best not to frighten him, but at the same time, desperately wanting to wipe that inexhaustible smile off the baby's innocent face.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura turned at the sound of her name, though she already had a pretty good idea who the owner of the voice was.

Amusedly, she leaned against the wall and watched as Konoha's beloved and well-respected Hokage flew through the hospital corridors, leaping over patients and medics as if they were merely hurdles on a racetrack.

Naruto skidded to a stop in front of her, caught his hat as it fell off, and jammed it nonchalantly back onto his head.

"You know," Sakura said. "A _normal_ person would just walk through and ask people to move aside."

He tilted his hat at her. "Ah, but I'm not a normal person. I am… Naruto! The Sixth Hokage of Konoha!" Striking a heroic pose, he flashed a flirtatious grin at a passing kunoichi, who blushed red and scampered off.

Sakura swatted his shoulder. "Can you not? Haruko-chan's eleven years younger than you."

"I can't help it if the ladies are naturally attracted to me," replied Naruto unapologetically.

"You're disgusting," Sakura threw back as she steered him towards her office. "Why can't you find someone to settle down with?"

Though no one dared eavesdrop on them, people stopped what they were doing to watch their Hokage throw his arms out in one of his many expressive gestures.

Sakura didn't even wait for him to finish talking before interjecting, "I don't believe you. Are you sure it's not because you're gay?"

She grinned to herself as he froze mid-step and spun around very slowly.

"What?"

"It makes a lot of sense though," Sakura thoughtfully tapped her chin. "You've never been on any dates. You spend most of your time in meetings with the council or your captains, all of which are male. And last week, I heard you tell Shika, 'It wouldn't work out.' He must have been devastated."

By now, Naruto's face had turned a lovely shade of red. "Shikamaru and I were discussing mission plans… And since when did you start listening in on private conversations?"

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but Naruto hastily said, "No. Don't answer that. But explain to me why I would flirt with _females_ if I was clearly interested in males?"

Blinking, Sakura inwardly wondered when Naruto had become so much smarter. "Well, I suppose you just pretend to, because you don't want to risk your –"

She was cut off with a snort. "Nice try, Sakura. And speaking of Sasuke –"

"Which we weren't," interrupted Sakura.

He frowned at her. "Silence while your Hokage speaks."

Suddenly, a sly glint appeared in his eyes. It was much too easy to get back at Sakura; almost took the fun out of it. Almost. In an abnormally loud and clear voice, he said, "I can't believe you kept Sasuke up _all_ night. That was so insensitive of you, Sakura."

"… You're so immature. It's hard to believe you turned twenty-six last month." Sakura rolled her eyes and tried to force down the blush that was slowly rising up her neck.

Naruto smirked, knowing without looking that everyone had their eyes glued to Sakura. It was amusing to see how even after eight years, people had yet to tire of Sasuke and Sakura gossip. Perhaps it was because so little had been circulated. Sasuke was very much into personal privacy.

"Now that we _are_ speaking of Sasuke, where the hell is he?"

----------

Thirty minutes had elapsed, and Sasuke had yet to move from his original spot in front of the sink.

This could not be happening.

This could _not_ be real.

He was twenty-six years old.

These things didn't happen at this age!

And he had never gotten a single one when he was young, why the hell should it start now?

He was no longer an awkward fumbling teenage shinobi, but a highly renowned ANBU captain, and goddamnit, how was he supposed to go out like this?

Hoping against hope, Sasuke activated his Sharingan, but he soon realized that it was, unfortunately, no illusion.

Curiosity got the best of him, and he gingerly poked it, but almost instantly retracted his finger. It was disgusting. For a moment, he considered digging around in Sakura's cabinet of cosmetics, but he swiftly dispelled that thought. He would rather die than walk around in public wearing make-up.

Not knowing what else to do, he stalked grumpily back to their bedroom.

Sakura had better not be coming home to eat.

----------

"Honestly, Naruto," said Sakura as she held the gate open for him. "You didn't have to come along. I could just send him over to you after lunch."

Naruto waved her offer away. "It's alright. Besides, I'd rather visit him as a friend, instead of his _superior_."

Clearly, the excitement over being more important than Sasuke had not yet died down, and Sakura struggled to suppress a smile. Until she caught sight of a small digital camera, dangling from Naruto's hand.

"Are you sure you're not here to try to catch Sasuke in an embarrassing moment of some sort?"

Naruto blinked, and then hurriedly began snapping pictures of the garden.

"Why… no. Sakura. I just think your house is so beautiful. I need inspiration for my own."

"Right…"

He was still as lame as ever.

----------

"Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun, where are you?"

"Sasuke! Come down and bow before your Hokage, teme!"

"I thought you said you were here to visit him as a friend."

"… Changed my mind. As Hokage, I'm allowed to do that."

Sakura sighed and pulled out three packages of instant ramen.

"Here," She tossed them to Naruto. "I'm going to go look for Sasuke."

She received a disapproving frown in return. "I'm a guest here, Sakura. Aren't you at least going to make them for me?"

She gave him a withering look and walked off in the direction of the master bedroom.

Slowly, Sakura pushed the door open, wondering if Sasuke was indeed still asleep.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke's face was nowhere in sight, but she had a sneaking suspicion that the blanket-swathed lump in the middle of the bed just so happened to be her beloved boyfriend.

How could anyone sleep like that, she wondered. Even his head was buried beneath the pink comforter. It would be a miracle if he hadn't already suffocated. With an exasperated sigh, she pushed at the lump.

"Sasuke-kun, wake up."

The lump spoke back, and she jumped at the clarity of his voice; he had been awake all along.

"I am. Now go away."

Annoyed, she shoved him again. "Get up. You missed your meeting with Naruto."

"I'll go see him tomorrow."

"Why the hell are you hidden in there?"

"…"

"Sasuke, this is ridiculous. Come out of there."

She could picture the scowl on his face as he responded. "No."

"Sasuke…"

He ignored the warning tone, though he knew he would pay dearly for it. "Go away. Don't you have to get back to work?"

"That can wait." Sakura grabbed hold of the comforter and yanked.

…

The veins were beginning to pop out of her neck. Sasuke had obviously expected her to do that and prepared for it thusly, so instead of seeing a scrunched up Sasuke on the bed, she saw a scrunched up Sasuke with yet another blanket over him.

She had no idea what was wrong with him, and this situation baffled her. Sasuke had never done anything like this before. It was so completely… un-Sasuke-like.

Time to change tactics.

Crawling onto the bed beside him, she leaned against the lump, which instantly stiffened. Perfect.

"Sasuke-kun," she murmured in a cajoling tone. "What's wrong? You can tell me anything, you know that."

She rubbed what she assumed was his shoulder, but it was a little hard to tell given the circumstances. For all she knew, she could be rubbing his head, which she knew he would absolutely hate.

"Sasuke-kun…"

"… You can't laugh."

Aha. Now, they were getting somewhere.

Sakura added more honey to her voice, until it was dripping with sticky sweetness. "You know I would never do that. Just come out of there. I'm afraid you'll run out of oxygen." _Stupid. That doesn't sound romantic at all. _

"…"

The lump rose, and gradually, the blanket was peeled away, revealing the apathetic face of her beautiful Sasuke-kun.

She stared.

And stared.

Apparently, shock had robbed her of her speech.

Sasuke suffered through three whole minutes of agonizing silence, before she finally found her voice again.

"Sasuke-kun, is that… Is that a _pimple_ on your face?"

----------

Naruto had always been rather impatient. And even though his days as a hasty and rash genin were far behind him, patience was still a quality he lacked.

He had already finished eating his ramen. And some leftover salad. And a few club sandwiches in the fridge. And two packages of vanilla wafers from the pantry. And Sakura's not-so-secret stash of chocolates for _that_ time of the month. And a whole container of homemade butter mochi.

But now, he was almost full and rather bored. Was Sasuke _ever_ going to come down? Was it that hard for Sakura to…

No.

No way.

Sakura would not do that.

Sakura-chan would never do that.

But Sasuke, that retard…

Naruto could easily imagine Sakura going to wake Sasuke up, and Sasuke, being the complete idiot he was, dragging her down onto the bed for a baby-making session.

He shuddered at the thought. Although, he wasn't hearing any loud thumping or moans, which was definitely a good sign. But maybe the walls were just soundproof; he had no way of knowing, and soundproof walls sounded like something Sasuke would invest in.

Should he leave and come back later? He didn't think the meeting was worth gouging out his eyes for.

But then again, he thought, as he felt the weight of the camera in his pocket. This would be some juicy news to spread. And it would be with proof.

----------

"Are you done staring?"

Apparently not, because Sakura's emerald eyes were still glued to the bump on his face.

To be honest, calling that disfiguration a "bump" was being far too kind. Sakura had seen her fair share of blemishes in the teenagers at the hospital, and this one was most definitely a serious one.

Sakura's mind scrambled to come up with the right words. She didn't want to lie and tell him that it was really no big deal; it was only a small speck on his otherwise gorgeous face. But neither did she think it appropriate to say that the left side of his nose now harbored a huge-red-angry-disgusting-oily pimple.

Crossing his arms, Sasuke glared at her. "Just say it. I know you want to."

She crossed her arms as well. Why was he getting upset with her? "Frankly, I have nothing to say. I'm speechless."

"Pft."

"Don't get mad at me. _I_ didn't make this happen."

He pulled the blanket over his head again. "Now that you've seen it, go away."

She pulled the blanket away. "It's fine. It'll go away in a few days."

"Hn."

"Come and eat."

Sasuke ignored the tug of his arm.

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?"

Never had she seen him so uncomfortable. The tenseness in his shoulders had not yet disappeared. His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white. And although his face was impassive as always, his eyes revealed a sort of anxiousness that no one would ever suspect an Uchiha of displaying.

"Sasu—"

"Are you okay with it?" _Am I no longer perfect in your eyes?_

Sakura looked confused, before realization dawned in her eyes. In response, she felt herself melting. Who would have thought that Uchiha Sasuke, of all people, could become so insecure? And over something as trivial as a pimple, no less.

He was much too adorable, she thought, as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. She felt his lips twitch against hers in what she knew was his smile, however small it may be.

_Click._

They broke apart at the sound of the shutter.

Naruto's gleeful face beamed at them from the doorway.

"I finished the ramen and decided to –"

Taking a few steps forward, Naruto's eyes bulged. "Holy crap, Sasuke. Your face!"

Naruto started laughing uncontrollably, much to the chagrin of Sasuke and the amusement of Sakura, who tried to hide her smile.

"Dobe, if you breathe a word to any—"

The Rokudaime whipped up his camera and clicked away furiously. "Don't worry, teme. I won't say anything – I'll just show them!"

Cackling evilly, he sped out the door.

Sasuke leapt off the bed and followed, his hands in a flurry of seals. "KATON –"

Horrified, Sakura jumped to her feet as well. "Sasuke! Not in the house!"

**---owari---**

* * *

A/N: Not much to say, besides the fact that I really enjoyed imagining how Naruto would be when he became Hokage. Part of me wants to think he'll mature, but a bigger part of me doubts that he would ever stray from his "fun-loving" ways. 

Hope you guys enjoyed it. :)


	7. R U2 R’ U’ R U’ R’

Theme # 1 – look over here

insert same old disclaimer.

Note: slightly AU, if only because of the Rubik's cube.

Sorry for the long wait. The very very long wait.

I wrote this as a sign of my deep obsession with the Rubik's cube.

To be honest, I can't imagine anyone not knowing what a Rubik's cube is, but just in case, our dear friend Wikipedia says, "Rubik's Cube is a mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik… each face is covered by nine stickers of one of six solid colours. When the puzzle is solved, each face of the Cube is a solid colour."

I do realize that those who don't know how to solve one will probably be unfamiliar with some of the terms used, though it shouldn't affect your understanding of the story, I hope. I have included some notes at the end that should clear things up and explain a little bit more about the cube.

Enjoy. And go solve a cube.

* * *

**R U2 R' U' R U' R'**

* * *

If he was to name one thing he hated about missions, it would be the report due at the end. 

No, it wasn't even that; it was wasting a good chunk of his life standing in front of a mountain of paperwork, delivering his report to her. Though she looked eternally youthful, old age made that decrepit hag nosier than ever, especially when it came to matters concerning Sakura and him.

Surprisingly, he could actually see Tsunade sitting at her desk when he entered. The cherry wood desk was free from its usual clutter, and the entire office was astonishingly neat, until he caught glimpse of the back office, swarming with loose-leaf paper.

He surveyed her dozing head on the table and the accompanying puddle of drool with distaste. As he turned to leave, a hand suddenly shot out and gripped his wrist. Hard.

Tsunade looked up with drowsy eyes and outstretched her other hand for his report. "Uchiha, you're late." She motioned for him to take a seat in the plush red armchair, but he remained standing. "Eh, so eager to see Sakura; won't even sit down," she murmured, half to herself but intended to reach his ears.

"I'm bleeding."

"Oh." She thumbed through the report, pretending to but not reading anything in particular, and they both knew it. She let go of the pretense, tossed the report to the side, and eagerly leaned forward, a gleam in her eyes. "So tell me, Uchiha. When are you two tying the knot?"

It was a question he had heard countless times before, but its ability to annoy him had yet to cease. He remained silent.

"I saw Sakura looking through wedding magazines earlier this week, but you haven't even popped the question yet." Tsunade sounded put out, laughable as it seemed. It wasn't any of her business, and Sasuke certainly did not appreciate her snoopiness.

His lack of response seemed to put an end to their conversation, if it could even be called that, but as she leaned back, she gave him a slow smirk. "I suggest you act now, before her new love completely erases you."

Now that caught his attention. He glared at her. "What do you mean?" Despite the absurdity of her statement and her duplicitous nature, he could find no lie in her expression.

Tsunade's smile remained smugly plastered on her face, as she smoothed out the wrinkles on her robe.

"You'll see."

Tsunade had too much time on her hands. No wonder why she never got any work done.

------------------------

The castella from the pastry shop down the street was on sale for half-price, so he bought two of them for Sakura before heading back to his flat. The perky teenager at the counter had stared quite unabashedly at his blood-stained clothes, but at least it was dry and no longer dripping.

Sakura wasn't waiting for him outside like usual, but it didn't surprise him. The summer fireflies that Sakura loved to watch had already appeared, and the first of the night stars dotted the sky in whimsical constellations.

It was eerily dark inside, which did surprise him, because Sakura hated the dark with a passion that rivaled his own disgust of cheery pink bedspreads and flowery curtains. However, she was allowed to act on her repulsion, whereas he had to suck it up like a man and shut up. And it didn't even matter that it was _his _apartment.

Too often, she acted as if she was the one paying the rent for this place. One day, when he was off on a mission, she had simply marched in and burned anything of his that she didn't like to a crisp. Which turned out to be a lot. And she replaced all of it with items of her choosing. Needless to say, he was not pleased when he returned, but to repurchase everything she destroyed was completely out of the question. Sasuke did not have spare money to burn.

Well, he did. Actually, he had quite a lot. But he would never do that; he wasn't Naruto.

"Sakura?"

Perhaps she was back at her own apartment, though she ought to have known of his return from Sunagakure. Normally at this time, she would be at the stove, preparing his dinner, while he sat cross-legged on the hardwood floor, bandaging his wounds.

He wasn't worried that she wasn't here; it was just odd and her absence strangely overwhelming.

He stood in the darkness for a full minute before soundlessly heading back out into the night.

------------------------

A single light flickered in the dim, illuminating her pale features, soft and delicate. Too bad her face was scrunched up in that ridiculous expression of concentration, but even so, she managed to capture that air of childlike youthfulness. It was cute. Maybe.

Chewing savagely on her lower lip, her hands were a whirl of motion. A flurry of vibrant colors. One could even describe it as beautiful, if not for the incessant click-clack of rotating plastic.

Could this be the "new love" that Tsunade was referring to?

It was a farcical thought but not an unfounded notion. The idea of Sakura finding another man was impossible, but oddly enough, this wasn't.

For one, she hadn't noticed his presence yet, despite the dramatic increase of chakra in the atmosphere. A bad sign, to be sure. It was his duty, he supposed, to snap her out of this infatuation. In their line of work, such carelessness could prove to be a safety hazard, or so he told himself.

But Sasuke would not compromise his pride. As an Uchiha, certain things were forbidden, like groveling on the floor for attention.

So instead, he simply tipped over the ornate flower vase with his finger.

It fell with a satisfying crash, the fuchsia orchids flimsy in their dying pool of stale water.

And to his pleasure, her head snapped up, eyes slightly dazed.

"Sasuke." She blinked a few times. "You're back." Looking wistfully back down at the cube in her hands, she bypassed the soggy mess on the floor and gestured to the marble counter behind her. "I made soba noodles for dinner. You can heat it up on the stove, if you like."

Wrong, wrong, wrong. This was completely against the natural order of things. She was supposed to notice the broken shards of ceramic pottery first, then see him in all his bloody glory, forget about the vase, proceed to fuss over him, prepare his dinner, and finally, pester him about his mission while he remained silent but content.

Sakura seemed to have forgotten quite a lot in the three weeks he had been gone.

Sullenly, he took a seat across from her. "What is that?"

Beaming, she shoved the puzzle into his line of vision. "It's a Rubik's cube!"

A what? He had heard of these before, but he had assumed they were only for the smallest of children or effeminates that didn't have the potential to become shinobi.

Apparently, he had voiced his thoughts out loud, for she was glaring at him. "That is not true at all." She shook the toy at him. "You can't even solve it, so don't you try and look down on those who can."

"If I can't solve it, then how is it possible for you," he fired back.

She flushed. "I can! I solved it this morning." Fiddling with the cube, she nodded towards the wall behind him.

"Interesting choice of wallpaper," he noted dryly.

"It's not wallpaper," she laughed, her mood changing instantaneously, as she gazed upon the wall with adoration. It was alarming to see such affection for a swarm of papers tacked haphazardly to plaster. And abnormal.

She moved behind him and pointed excitedly to the scrawl of letters and numbers.

R U R' U R U2 R'

F R U R' U' F'

R U2 R' U' R U' R'

M2 U M2 U U M2 U M2

R' U R' U' R' U' R' U R U R2

The list went on and on, each line just as incomprehensible as the first. Had she gone mad? Surely his absence hadn't damaged her psyche to that extent.

She was a bubble of enthusiasm. Not even his blatant apathy could deter her from prattling on about 'sune' and 'cycling edges' and whatever the hell she was talking about.

Thank god two years with her had taught him how to effectively silence her. With one suave motion, he plucked the cube from her and leaned in for a lingering kiss.

He didn't get it.

The instant the cube left her hand, she lunged forward and violently snatched it back, scooting to her seat again.

Reminiscent of her childlike days, she stuck out her tongue at him. "Get your own cube, Sasuke-kun." Her attention returned to the Rubik's cube, but then she looked back up at him. "You're bleeding," she cried, setting the cube aside.

It was about time she forgot about that retarded puzzle and focused on him. Sasuke thought it was rather pathetic how long she took to notice, considering that his face was streaked with dried crusty blood.

"I'll get the bandages." Abruptly, she turned to her cube and kissed it lovingly. "I'll be back, my dearest," she directed towards the blob of plastic.

She really was crazy if she was talking to a child's toy. In any case, that kiss should have been his. Sasuke scowled angrily at the lifeless cube. He too was rather pathetic to be worked up over this. But he had good reason to. Not only did he reek of death and toil, he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to relax in the softness of her embrace and touch.

Checking to see that she was out of the room, he picked up the cube and pressed the red side, the side that she had kissed a minute ago, to his cheek, transferring her kiss to the cube to him.

Disgusted by his sudden show of sentimentality, he dropped it contemptuously back onto the table. Perhaps he could melt it with a fireball and get rid of it for good. But that was out of the question. He could just picture Sakura's face of fury as she tried to throw him out.

Stupid cube. How dare it interfere with his relationship. How dare it let itself be twisted and caressed by Sakura.

How dare it make him feel so foolish and puerile.

With a swift backhand, he swept it brutally off the table, where it hurtled helplessly through the air and smashed against the wall. He heard a clear popping sound as it hit the ground, defeated and wretched.

Threat eliminated.

Unfortunately, that popping sound was because all its pieces broke apart upon impact, and now, the nylon core lay sadly on the floor, the colored tiles scattered around it.

"_Uchiha Sasuke_, _what did you do to my cube?!í_"

Shit.

* * *

A/N: Here are some notes for your reading pleasure. 

Castella is a type of Japanese sponge cake, made with sugar, flour, and eggs. The original version is so good, but they also make variations, like honey or green tea, that are also super delicious. Go eat some.

There are a bunch of methods out there for solving a Rubik's cube. But whichever one you're using, there's a set of algorithms to go with it. Algorithms are basically instructions that tell you how to turn certain parts of the cube, for lack of a better definition.

The series of letters on Sakura's wall (and the title of this chapter) are all algorithms. The letters tell you which direction to turn a specific part of the cube. For example, R refers to the side directly to the right of the front, and you would turn it up. If it was R', you'd turn it down. The apostrophe after any letter stands for 'prime' or 'inverted,' meaning you'd turn it counter-clockwise.

Sune refers to a method used to help solve the final layer. (The most common way of solving the cube is layer by layer, which means solving the bottom row first, then the middle, and then the top.) Same with the edge cycle (cycling edges).

Not that anyone cares, but a Rubik's cube is generally made out of two plastics, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and nylon, hence the reference to the nylon core. And you can break the cube apart and put it back together. I pop my cube all the time, haha. But for the sake of the story, Sasuke didn't know that.

Feel free to ask any questions about cubing or this chapter. I know my explanations are probably rather lacking in information. Sorry. On the other hand, I'm so glad to be back. : I'll try and churn out another one soon. School's killing me.


End file.
